


Coffee and Second Chances

by Lexasyellowpellow



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluffy, I’m never gonna recover from them, Masturbation, Some light angst, The only nsfw part is the masturbation, a lot of gay yearning, brief mentions of Eddie and Dani’s past, its cute y’all, sexy and also fluffy, so many feelings, so much yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:13:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27615380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexasyellowpellow/pseuds/Lexasyellowpellow
Summary: Dani misses Jamie in the days between their disastrous kiss in the greenhouse and Jamie’s return to the manor. She decides to finally do something about her feelings. Also, she gets a bit “excited” remembering their kiss and finally gives in to her desires.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 2
Kudos: 148





	Coffee and Second Chances

Dani was surprised to find the manor quiet the morning following the bonfire. She hadn’t realized how quickly she had gotten used to the routine of her life at Bly, to the companionship of Hannah and Owen...and well, and Jamie. Dani sighed and shook her hair in frustration, walking into the empty kitchen to prepare a pot of tea she knew no one would drink but herself.

She figured Owen would need a few days. She tried to push back the memories of that first week after Eddie- all that arranging, planning it all and trying to not collapse under the weight of her guilt, her ache for her lost best friend, and her fear of what her future would become now. Everything in her home reminded her of Eddie, it was just too much to bear especially with his specter appearing around every corner. She had thought if she just went away, far, far away, his ghost couldn’t possibly follow her.

Dani frowned and poured herself a cup of the scalding hot tea from the kettle just before it could whistle. _How wrong I was_ , she mused leaning against the kitchen counter. She tried so hard to push aside too that horrible sinking feeling in her gut, that clench of shame that wracked her body whenever she thought about her last encounter with the gardener, and one of her last encounters with the specter looming over her. She meant what she’d said, she knew she did.

When Jamie asked, “are you sure”, Dani had been sure. She was sure that what she felt for the gardener was irrefutable, impossible to ignore any longer. She was sure she’d burn from the inside out with how badly her cells were vibrating calling out for Jamie’s body, for Jamie’s touch. 

Dani had been so sure and even so he had appeared. She knew Jamie was hurt, even though she had been so adamant to say she was okay and that it was all good. _No_ , Dani sighed, _it was not all good_. 

The day went by slowly, minutes dragging into hours feeling like they might never bring night. The children for their part were well behaved enough and did not cause much trouble. Owen had left ready made meals for them to heat in his absence and Dani found it easy enough to serve the simple dish of macaroni and cheese to the children and herself.

Hannah who had reappeared, seemingly out of nowhere, claimed she’d eaten already. It was night now and the gardener had never come by the manor. Jamie rarely took days off, but with how tense the previous evening had been, Dani knew she should not panic too much at the absence. Jamie probably was just exhausted and needed some time away, she’ll probably act completely normal when she returns. Dani tried to convince herself, though she didn’t fully believe her own wishful thoughts. 

It was the next morning when Jamie again didn’t show up that Dani dared to ask Hannah about it. She was certain the house keeper would know where Jamie was and she’d guessed correctly. Hannah fixed a sympathetic knowing look on Dani’s face and Dani felt she might crumple into tears.

“She’ll be back love, Jamie well she acts tough enough but she has her quirks. We all do. She took a couple of personal days, had plenty saved up.”

When Hannah recognized the disappointment in Dani’s face she smiled softly and added, “She’ll be back Thursday. She starts a bit early so I reckon you’ll see her by the time you come down for breakfast”. 

Dani’s eyes lit up like she’d been given a gift and she hurried away before she could betray herself fully to the house keeper.

Dani spent the rest of the day lost in thought smiling to herself picturing Jamie in the garden tending to some rose bushes or in the greenhouse repotting some sort of house plant. She felt determination and fear but something else, hope maybe and something new, something she dared not to name twisting low in her abdomen. She decided to use the extra day without Jamie to scheme up a plan to win herself back into her good graces. She had a lot to make up for and she knew it was a bit of a long shot, but to get this far and just back down? Dani couldn’t. Dani could never.

* * *

Wednesday night, Dani’s mind raced and her heartbeat thrummed wildly beneath her skin as she lay in her bed going back over her plan for the morning. She had decided she would seek Jamie out early, before anyone else woke up and distracted her and before she would have time to talk herself out of it. She had set two alarms not wanting to risk missing what she feared was her only shot to fix this mess.

In the darkness of the room Dani allowed her thoughts to drift to the gardener, her soft skin, beautiful curly hair, perfect nose, and finally to her lips. Dani felt her own breath hitch in her chest at the image of Jamie’s lips, the image of Jamie standing so close to her that her lips were mere inches away from Dani’s own. And because Dani had longed for so so long and because she had finally opened the floodgates when she allowed herself to kiss Jamie, Dani could no longer deny her body what it wanted. 

Dani felt a bit self conscious, she was never really the type to touch herself. But the image of the gardener in her head, licking her lip and staring at Dani with hooded eyes, pupils dark with hunger and wanting, Dani couldn’t possibly sleep with an image like that searing in her mind. 

Dani closed her eyes and experimentally placed her hand on her lower abdomen, splaying her fingers and letting them slip across the thin fabric of her nightgown. She sighed into the touch and felt the heat between her legs intensify. Unable to hold out any longer, Dani hiked her nightgown up to her chest and pushed her already soaked panties to the side. She took a few steadying breaths and let her fingers drift, thumb brushing ever so lightly over her sensitive clit eliciting a soft moan from the au pair. She closed her eyes and was flooded with images of Jamie, the electric feeling of her kiss with Jamie filling her mind and making Dani tremble under the touch of her fingers against her clit wishing desperately it was Jamie’s fingers and not her own.

Dani imagined how good Jamie would look with that mischievous sparkle in her eyes and her gorgeous mouth whispering the dirtiest things to her, calling her Poppins with her mouth on her folds. 

Dani knew she would not last long, not with the way her imagination seemed to have an endless supply of Jamie’s voice and Jamie’s lips and Jamie’s hot breath and the feel of her tongue slipping against her entrance and - oh, Dani was falling, tipping over the edge before she’d fully realized it. Her back arched and her eyes squeezed shut almost painfully. Her breaths were short and quick as she came hard, panting Jamie’s name like a prayer.  


* * *

Dani fell asleep dreaming of Jamie holding her and woke to her first alarm feeling more ready to confront the gardener than she had thought she’d ever feel. She pulled herself from the bed, turned off the second alarm and went back over her speech in her head.

Dani felt giddy like a teenager about to ask their crush to a dance. She took one more deep breath to prepare herself and headed to the kitchen to set her plan in motion, nervous but sure, so very sure and ready to finally follow her heart for the first time in well, ever if Dani were being perfectly honest. 

She had chosen coffee, because she knew Jamie was disgusted by her tea. She hadn’t been sure if British people ever really drink coffee, but figured they must since the coffee beans were available in the kitchen. She busied herself making a pot of coffee and choosing two clean mugs from the cupboards along with a serving tray. This all took a bit longer than Dani had originally anticipated as it turns out that making coffee was a bit difficult to do quietly when the rest of the house was fully asleep. Finally she had two mugs of coffee with cream and sugar and the knowledge that if she wasted any more time she’d never go through with it. 

Dani hoisted the serving tray carefully and headed out onto the grounds to find the gardener. It had been difficult walking across uneven ground balancing the mugs of hot liquid but by some miracle she’d managed not to spill a drop. Dani caught sight of Jamie in the greenhouse, tending to some of her plants and too caught up in her work to notice that she was being watched. Dani felt her heart flutter in her chest at the sight of the gardener after so many days apart. Logically she knew it really hadn’t been that long but Dani couldn’t bring herself to care. She had missed her, she had missed Jamie so damn much and she needed her to know that. Now. 

Dani tapped her fingers against the glass to announce herself and stood awkwardly against the doorway, face lighting up as Jamie turned to look at her. Dani was so excited to see Jamie she wasn’t even hurt when Jamie spit out the coffee Dani had spent so long making. She merely laughed and kept trying to express how strange it had felt the past few days, without Jamie there.

Jamie acted guarded, walls back up and eyes trying desperately not to look at Dani. She busied herself with her plants while Dani prattled on about the events of the past few days. Jamie looked nervous, skeptical, and just a bit -if one looked hard enough- hopeful as she listened to Dani who had finally decided to ask her out. On a date. To the pub. That boring little pub in Bly, that Jamie just happened to live above. And Jamie looked like she still wasn’t sure she should say yes even though it was also obvious that she wanted to. She looked fragile, vulnerable, a look Dani never really associated with Jamie beforehand.

Dani smirked at the implications of going to a bar with Jamie, her own eyes sparkling mischievously at the pictures that had begun to flood her mind. She hoped Jamie could give her just this one chance, knew she’d fucked up the first chance. She tried everything she could with her body language and tone to convey that she would get it right this time.

Later that night when Jamie strode into the kitchen holding a flashlight, Dani grinned ear to ear, realizing instantly that her message had gotten through, and that Jamie was willing to let her try again. As Dani sat in the woods looking at Jamie intently listening to her being so raw, so open and honest and taking a huge leap for Dani, she almost couldn’t believe that Jamie was willing to show herself to Dani this way.

She sat staring in awe at the woman who was so incredibly strong, so beautiful, so caring, and who had been through so much more than any one person ever should. And as Dani pulled Jamie into a deep, searing kiss, full of more certainty than she’d ever felt in her life, the only thought in her mind was, _it’s you_. And then all thought dissolved into white hot static and Jamie’s name on Dani’s tongue as they succumbed to their desires. 


End file.
